Gareth Bale emerged victorious from his private battle with Luka Modric. But it was a hollow victory as Wales were rocked by two bolts out of the blue.

The Spurs star appeared to have set Chris Coleman’s side on their way to a second victory in four days following a first-half penalty which breathed fresh life into their hopes of qualifying.

But a late 35-yard thunderbolt from Croatia centre half Dejan Lovren ended home resistance.

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Snap: Eduardo fires in the winner with a quick-fire volley

Pure delight: Croatian players celebrate after Eduardo turned the game on its head

And a typically predatory Eduardo effort
in the final few moments kicked Wales where it hurts after an otherwise
promising display.

This defeat means yet another campaign has all but come to an end.
Victory here for Wales would have set up an interesting finale to Group A
in the autumn but now all Coleman can hope for is to finish on a high.

It would be glib to talk about positives. But the Croats, in their
change strip of all blue, repeatedly came up against a red wall as
Coleman’s side worked devilishly to protect their lead.

And it so nearly worked. True, Wales keeper Boaz Myhill did make two
reflex saves of the highest order to maintain the advantage given when
Bale converted his fifth goal in six games after Joe Ledley drew a
clumsy challenge from Lovren midway through the opening half.

Dejection: Boaz Myhill (centre) should have prevented Croatia from equalising

Turnaround: Dejan Lovren (right) scored from distance but Myhill should have kept it out

But the Spurs star also missed a chance seven minutes before the break
that would have put Wales two goals to the good. It was an opportunity
that one of the most prolific finishers in the Premier League would
normally expect to finish.

Instead of ending in the net, however, the ball was skied over the crossbar. It was the pivotal moment.

Croatia, whose coach Igor Stimac admitted had been affected both
physically and emotionally following their victory over Serbia last
Friday, looked jaded. The quality of their passing game was awry.

But Wales took advantage, and had Bale accepted his chance, it could
have been a different story. In the end, it was a familiar one.

Coleman said: ‘I’m gutted. We knew we would be up against it.
But we could have come in two goals up at half-time. We just couldn’t
get that elusive second.

Cool head: Gareth Bale slots home from the penalty spot to give Wales the lead

Spot on: Wales' main man Bale tucked away his penalty with aplomb

‘Gareth’s first touch was sublime and he opened up his body. Until then,
it was a perfect carbon copy of the goal he scored against Austria. I
thought he was going to score. I’d have put money on him scoring but
maybe it took a bobble.

‘We had a couple of real good moments from when we could have scored
more goals. But in the second half we probably defended too deep, too
early.

‘It’s human nature to protect the lead, given the nature of their team.
If you have got the likes of Ivica Olic or Luka Modric you expect them
to score, but for the centre half to do what he did, you can’t account
for that.

‘As soon as it left his foot it looked in. It moved two or three times
in the air. ‘I’m not blaming Boaz. He has been excellent. He saw it late
through a crowd of players. He has been different class. It knocked the
stuffing out of us.’

It was Jonathan Williams, making his full debut, who linked well with
Ledley to earn Wales a breakthrough. The Crystal Palace teenager appears
to be a considerable prospect and did not look out of place in such
exalted company.

Narrow angle: Bale watches as his shot fly wide of the post

Chopped down: Bale is fouled by Croatia's Mateo Kovacic (left)

After being set up by Hal Robson-Kanu and seeing a shot saved, Bale then blazed over.

After the interval, Croatia used the ball far better and were eventually
rewarded. Myhill had performed wonders in the first half when he
prevented Eduardo from finding the net with a dangerous header from six
yards.

He followed it up with a similarly spectacular stop after Darijo Srna’s
fierce cross-shot struck Eduardo. On that occasion the Wales keeper
palmed clear. However, he had no answer when Lovren drilled the ball
home. It was a once-in-a-lifetime effort.

Olic crossed for Eduardo to pounce in the dying moments as if to drill home the importance of Wales’ missed chances.

What's going on? Craig Bellamy (right) and Co are deflated after they threw away their lead

Stimac was gracious afterwards.

‘We were a little bit lucky today,’ he said. ‘The Welsh side were on
top. It’s evident that two wins against Scotland brought lots of
confidence to their team.

‘They were a different side from the one we met in Croatia. My players didn’t do what we expected.

‘We were not passing the ball quickly enough and we were lucky in the
first half not to concede more. In the second half we came back well. We
made good changes from the bench.

‘In the end we have more players than Wales and that maybe was the difference.’

Not enough: Bale and Ashley Williams walk off after a defeat that never should have been